Thomas Marden
| Thomas Owen Marden | |
|---|---|
| Born |
15 September 1866 Bath |
| Died |
11 September 1951 Folkestone |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Rank | Major General |
| Unit | Cheshire Regiment |
| Commands held |
1st Welch Regiment 114th Infantry Brigade 6th Division 53rd (Welsh) Division |
| Battles/wars |
Boer War First World War |
| Awards |
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Mentioned in Despatches |
| Other work | Author |
Major General Sir Thomas Owen Marden, KBE, CB, CMG (15 September 1866 – 11 September 1951) was a British Army officer, active during the Boer War and the First World War, where he commanded a battalion of the Welch Regiment, a brigade, and finally 6th Division. Following the war, he commanded a British occupying force in Turkey during the Chanak Crisis in the early 1920s.
Early career
Marden attended Berkhamsted School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, before joining the Cheshire Regiment as a lieutenant on 25 August 1886. He saw service with his regiment in Burma from 1887 to 1889, during the colonial campaigns following the Third Anglo-Burmese War, and was promoted to captain on 15 May 1896. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War, he was posted on special duty as District Commandant in South Africa. Leaving London in February 1900, he was senior officer in command of reinforcements on board the SS Cheshire for the journey,[1] and arrived in South Africa the following month. He was mentioned in despatches for service during the war. He returned to England to attend the Staff College, Camberley, graduating in 1902 and posted to staff duties in India as a deputy assistant adjutant-general. In 1904 he was posted to the Directorate of Training at the War Office,[2] moving to a staff posting in South Africa in 1910.[3]
Whilst on staff duties, in 1905, he had been promoted to a majority in the Northumberland Fusiliers, and in 1908 transferred into the Welch Regiment. In 1912 he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, and left South Africa in order to take up command of the 1st Battalion, Welch Regiment.[2]
First World War
At the outbreak of the First World War, Marden's battalion was stationed in India; it was brought back to the United Kingdom and allocated to 28th Division, which was to be sent to the Mediterranean.[4] Whilst passing through France, units of the division were used to support operations on the Western Front, and Marden was wounded by shrapnel whilst commanding his battalion at the Second Battle of Ypres.[2]
Later in 1915, he was promoted to command 114th Infantry Brigade in 38th (Welsh) Division.[3] He commanded the brigade until mid-1917, during which time it fought at the Battle of the Somme, where it took heavy losses, and on the first day of the Third Battle of Ypres.[2] In August 1917 he was again promoted to command 6th Division, which he commanded at the Battle of Cambrai and in the Hundred Days Offensive.[5] Following the Armistice, he commanded a brigade in the occupying British Army of the Rhine.[2]
For his services during the War, he was mentioned in despatches eight times, and made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George, as well as being made an officer of the French Légion d'Honneur and the Russian Order of St. Vladimir (fourth class, swords), and awarded the Croix de Guerre with palm.[3]
Later service
In 1920, Marden was given command of the British division occupying Constantinople. During the Chanak Crisis of 1922 he played a key role in negotiating a peaceful settlement between British and Turkish forces, for which he later received a knighthood.[2] He returned home in 1923 to take command of the 53rd (Welsh) Division in the Territorial Army before retiring in June 1927. He held the ceremonial colonelcy of the Welch Regiment from 1920 to 1941.[3]
In 1920, he wrote a short history of 6th Division from 1914 to 1918,[5] and in 1932 wrote a history of the Welch Regiment during the same period.[2]
He died at Folkestone, Kent, in 1951 aged eighty-four and was buried St Martin's churchyard at nearby Cheriton.
References
- ↑ "The War - Embarcation of Troops". The Times (36064). London. 13 February 1900. p. 11.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Obituary in the Times, p. 6, 12 September 1951.
- 1 2 3 4 "Marden, Major-General Sir Thomas Owen", in Who Was Who (Online ed.). London: A & C Black. 2007.
- ↑ The Welsh Regiment in 1914–18
- 1 2 Marden, Thomas Owen (1920). A short history of the 6th Division.
External links
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charles Ross |
General Officer Commanding the 6th Division 1917–1919 |
Succeeded by Peter Strickland |
| Preceded by Archibald Montgomery-Massingberd |
General Officer Commanding the 53rd (Welsh) Division 1923–1927 |
Succeeded by Thomas Cubitt |
| Preceded by ? |
Colonel of the Welch Regiment 1920–1941 |
Succeeded by ? |